Biography
Zachow holds a significant position in music history through his instruction of Handel. Krieger, Kirchoff, and Ziegler numbered among his additional pupils. Johann Hildebrand appears to have served as his own teacher. He occupied the organist position at Halle’s Marienkirche from 1684 until his death. His compositional production proved far more extensive than initial research had suggested, encompassing cantatas, oratorios, mass movements, and masses. Every cantata adhered to the spiritual-concert format. Four-part choruses with fugues appear frequently in his output, paired with arias cast in strophic, ritornello, and through-composed designs, all testifying to wide-ranging technical command. Zachow could shape music of strong feeling while highlighting textual meaning through repetition of key phrases. His organ pieces typically rest on chorale melodies, and the preludes place cantus firmi in both the uppermost and lowermost voices. The chorale fugues establish him as an important predecessor of Bach.